Have you ever bought a vehicle for under $5000.

We all know its red flags and buyers beware in this price range and a very large percentage of consumers get burned with repair bills that outweigh the investment

What did you buy - what are you considering buying - how long have you had vehicle - how much in repair bills - whats your advice to others shopping in this price range

I am thinking about buying a 1999 chrysler town and country for 3500 with 125,000 miles. It is a friend of my dad's who is selling it. He picked it up at a dealer auction and will give it to me at his cost. He is a mechanic and says there is nothing wrong with the car. Basically he could get more but he is helping me out. I am trying to get feedback to see if this is a good idea. This will be the first used car I buy, I have always brought new.

I am thinking about buying a 1999 chrysler town and country for 3500 with 125,000 miles. It is a friend of my dad's who is selling it. He picked it up at a dealer auction and will give it to me at his cost. He is a mechanic and says there is nothing wrong with the car. Basically he could get more but he is helping me out. I am trying to get feedback to see if this is a good idea. This will be the first used car I buy, I have always brought new.

You dont get much for $ 3500. today but this seems like a really good deal to me.

If you cant trust your dad's friend - whom can you trust ?.... buy it

I bought my Stratus 02 Coupe SE for $2,200 and it's been great.I serviced it and changed two belts and that's pretty much it.

So I have had my van for two weeks now. On the way home from NH the brakes started grinding and I found that there were no pads. Put on new pads and rotors. I then got the van inspected and the mechanic said he had not seen a car in such good condition in a while. I sanded the headlights clear, and fixed the rattles. I am very happy with the car. Over all I would have to say if you look you can get a great car for under 5000. Total cost fro me right now is 3800.00.

You bought a good vehicle. I have a 97 T&C that i purchased new. It now has 130K miles and it still runs great. The 3.8L engine is a good one. It's important on those vans to change the oil every 3-4k miles. In 130k miles I only had to replace the starter, the serpentine belt and that's about it. The other common problem it has is there are metal pipes going to the back of the vehicle for the rear heat that tend to rot out and start leaking.
Also, regarding the price, people today sell cars based on what book value or dealers tell them it's worth. That number is based on the average car for that model and age. The adjustment for low mileage is not that much, so if you find a reliable model car with low mileage that runs good, you can get a good deal.
Godd luck with the car!

Um, I got my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee for $2,500, the miles read not actual on the title but that's because the speedo wasn't working at the time, my dad's a mechanic and the lady he got it from he had just put a new engine in it and he knew that it was clean and he's done all her work on it. It has 75,000 miles, now, it's Fully Loaded, Leather, Sunroof, Power Seats, Infinity system, L6. The only thing I've changed on it are the brake pads and rotars but that's just because of the way I drive, I mean one of my lights burned out in the back but I mean I spent like nothing on it, done a few oil changes on it but nothing serious. We buy and sell cars and we have a few for under $5,000. We used to buy more expensive cars but a lot of people look for cars for this price so we're buying cheaper cars. We got a 99' Ford Contour with 89k miles that we're asking $3,000 for. Also a 2002 Buick Century (title reads not actual) very clean car, only $4,500, if we buy a car from the auction with a problem, a big one not something he can fix easily we take it back and resell it there.

I bought a few cars for under 5G. Granted most of them were older cars and I was expecting to do some work on them. The prize was a 1969 AMX with 59 miles on the clock. Granted we had to rebuild the engine, repaint the car, and clean it up. We kept the numbers matching on it, then sold it again. The car came from an old lady who's son had bought it and died while in the service. The location was undisclosed and I didn't ask any further since I got the feeling that it was a touchy subject. The car sat in the barn uncovered since he left. Got it for $500, parts and paint ended up costing about $4,000 though.